Chemical Profiling and Differential Analysis of Whiskies using Orbitrap GC-MS

This application note details the use of the Thermo Scientific™ Q Exactive™ GC Hybrid Quadrupole-Orbitrap™ Mass Spectrometer for the chemical profiling of whiskies for the purposes of quality control and authentication. Whisky is a premium spirit beverage that has become an economically important commodity in many regions of the world. As a result, counterfeiting and/or adulteration is commonplace and is a threat to the integrity of the industry. Therefore, it is essential that whisky producers use the available analytical technology to accurately and comprehensively characterize their products. The results demonstrate that the Q Exactive™ is an extremely effective tool for the chemical profiling of complex samples, delivering excellent mass accuracy for all components in a sample that leads to fast and confident characterization of samples regardless of the concentration of the component.